1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital camera having a mechanism shiftable for portability. More particularly, the present invention relates to a digital camera having a mechanism shiftable for portability, in which plural elements are collapsible.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
A digital camera is widely used, and includes an image sensor of CCD or CMOS type for picking up a motion picture or still image. An example of digital still camera is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,462 (corresponding to JP-A 2003-075897). Recently popular types of the digital still camera have been provided with construction for zooming. For higher portability of a camera body, the digital still camera is constructed so that a lens barrel having a zoom lens is collapsed into the camera body when not used.
A display panel in the digital still camera is used to display an image for monitoring and also for playing back image data previously stored. Examples of the display panel are an organic ELD panel, liquid crystal display panel, inorganic ELD panel, or other structures of a light valve of a visible type. The organic ELD panel is characterized in use of organic EL (electroluminescence). Those examples are advantageous in having an enlarged size of frame, and a reduced thickness. Also, JP-A 10-210334 and JP-A 11-331669 disclose a camera in a collapsible structure adapted for portability when not used, and with suitability for stable handling in photographing.
However, both structures in JP-A 10-210334 and JP-A 11-331669 have shortcomings in that a grip unit to be grasped manually has a small thickness relative to the thickness of the camera body. There is no disclosure of raising the thickness of the entirety of the camera body in view of raising the suitability for gripping.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,542 (corresponding to JP-A 59-033437) discloses changing over a direction of a camera body according to its thickness. This discloses a camera for use with photo film. Nothing in the document discloses a digital camera.